What It Is About - FIVE Things You Need to Know:
1. *The author, Christine Day, based her debut novel on own family's history.
2. *Edie thinks she knows her mother's story. Her mom, a Native American, was adopted by a while couple when she was just a baby. As Edie grows up, she learns there is a whole lot more to the story.
3. *When Edie and her friends find a mystery box, they uncover a whole slew of secrets.
4. *As the girls begin to work on a school project, they begin to disagree about how they should proceed with the project which eventually effects their friendships.
5. *Edie is torn whether to share her new knowledge with her parents or not, but wants to figure out who she is, who her mother is, and what the materials in the box truly mean.
What I Thought Of It - Five Observations/Reflections:
1. *There are not many middle-grade novels out there about Native American characters. At least I'm not aware of them. This story was well done while also insightful.
2. *I enjoyed the story of Edie, her family, and the girls who she surrounds herself with.
3. *The mystery of the box certainly drove the story, but it was also a character driven novel.
4. *Once the "story" was revealed; I was touched on the emotion, heart-break, and reality of the situation. The fact that these types of "events" actually happened, makes it all the more difficult.
5. *The journey of Edie is an important one for children to read about, experience, and understand. There needs to be more stories such as this one.
Who Should Read It:
Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade readers would be the best audience for Christine Day's debut novel. I would also use it in any middle-school classroom and/or library. If you know of any Native American students; I would think they would be fascinated by Edie's story. Happy Reading!
Rating: 4 STARS out of 5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment